Google launches lightweight Go search app in South Africa

Google has unveiled a new, lightweight search app aimed at emerging markets. The app, called Google Go, has been launched in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, and is available for download immediately.

The app, the Internet giant said, is meant to address the challenges often faces by users in emerging markets: weak data connectivity, high data costs and low RAM and storage space on entry-level devices. It uses less than 5MB of storage on Android smartphones.

Google Go uses the latest version of the company’s compression algorithm, which it said consumes up to 40% less than to display search results. Search results are also cached on the device so users can quickly re-access previous searches, even when they’re offline, without incurring further data costs.

“When there’s no Internet access, Google Go retries failed search requests in the background and lets you know as soon as the results are ready. Web pages load quickly, even in data-saving mode or on 2G connections,” it said in a statement.

Voice search has been improved to work better on slow connections, too.

Google Go is available immediately in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa through the Google Play Store. It will come pre-installed on all Android Oreo (Go edition) devices, which will go on sale soon. It is available for devices running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and above. — (c) 2018 NewsCentral Media